Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight Episode 11: We Are

Hmmm, a black-haired girl whose image color is blue, voiced by Mimorin, sacrificing themselves in order to save her friends? Why is this so familiar? I didn’t think I’d have to deal with a plot point like this all over again.

I had a feeling that Hikari would end up changing something, like the story or the system. Hikari makes her wish, though we didn’t exactly hear what it was, and the next thing we knew Hikari completely disappeared from the face of the earth. The girls hear of her withdrawal and are shocked, Karen especially. She tries calling her but she gets no answer. She does this every day, even calling the school from London, but still nothing. Days pass, then weeks, then months. 7 months to be exact! Phone calls, text messages, police report, letters, and still nothing. Days at Seisho continue as normal and the cast list for Starlight is made, and it’s the same cast as before. It’s funny how Hikari sacrificed herself so the stage wouldn’t take Karen or anyone else’s fuel, but even then Karen realized that her “shine” was gone. The love of dance, song, and the stage she couldn’t find within herself anymore. So it basically proves this “shine” every Stage Girl has is both physical and metaphorical. And again this proves that Hikari doesn’t think things through. Losing her best friend, the most important thing to her, made Karen lose all dedication and her role in Starlight is possibly in jeopardy.

As part of her grieving, Karen turns to the Starlight Gatherer book Hikari left behind. Upset she can’t read it because it’s in English, Karen works hard every day translating it. One day she comes to the end and discovers something strange about it, and it’s that the ending is completely different. Before, the ending was that Claire and Flora would be separated. This time, Karen discovers that Claire becomes imprisoned in the Tower of Starlight Gathering to atone for the others’ sins. It’s completely different, which makes me think that Hikari’s wish is responsible for this. Putting two and two together, Karen heads to the tower!

This next moment with all the girls coming together with the song in the background was so sweet. It was nice to see how much they all have grown and improved and how all of them love each other. They care about each other and eagerly await when Hikari comes back to them. Nana happily moving on in life, Mahiru setting Hikari’s jellyfish plush next to the mascot one, etc. Also this whole moment was basically a reverse Starlight. Instead of going up the tower and having the goddesses stop her, it’s Karen going down the tower and having the goddesses full support and love. I found it incredibly beautiful and heartwarming. Karen descends and finds a ticket to a show, with only Hikari. And a USB outlet with Hikari’s phone? Even though we’ve had weird stuff in this show, the random USB outlet on the stage was probably the weirdest thing yet.

I’m sad this show is going to end next week, but I can’t wait to see what kind of finale we’re going to get. This time, I hope this iteration of Starlight will be a happier one.

1 Response

And again this proves that Hikari doesn’t think things through. Losing her best friend, the most important thing to her, made Karen lose all dedication and her role in Starlight is possibly in jeopardy.

Not sure about that. For once, even if Karen is losing determination the other girls are okay and that’s thanks to Hikari. There’s a scene when they’re all together talking about how Hikari NOT stealing their shine saved them all. I really liked that they realized this.

Also, while it’s sad to see Karen losing her passion and happiness, I think she needed to experience this. It allowed her to better understand what Hikari had gone through. She cares a lot about Hikari but she didn’t truly understand her until now.